Glimpses - a collection of short stories
by marzipan fox
Summary: Take a glance at various moments from the lives of the characters from the Naruto series. All genres, all pairings. Some drabbles may be AU. If you'd like to see a particular drabble written, just request it. All requests are welcome :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there ^^ more details about me and about this collection are at the end of this chapter. For now, please enjoy this first drabble ~**

**This drabble is partly AU, by the way, because the massacre didn't happen, so Sasuke-chan is a lot nicer and child-like.**

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_**My Sasuke-friend**_

_Sasuke and Sakura_

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Nine-year-old Sakura chewed absently on her gum, waiting for Sasuke to uncover his ears. She huffed, exasperated. "Come on, it's not like I said something _that_ awful."

He was staring at the ground, and his hands were still firmly held over his ears.

She sighed and threw up her arms. "Seriously, Sasuke, sooner or later you'll have to accept the fact that Itachi has a girlfriend." She crossed her arms, glaring at him.

His face scrunched up in a grimace, proving that he still heard her, despite his covered ears. "That's weird, I don't want to think about it," he grumbled. He let his hands fall to his sides, defeated. "It's no good, I can't unhear what you said."

A wide smile stretched on Sakura's lips and she bounced on her feet. "See, I told you it's no use," she said in a sing-song voice. She turned around and started marching on the street. "Let's go now, remember your mom asked us to buy tomatoes."

Sasuke followed after her, an odd expression still on his face. "I can't believe he actually has a _girlfriend_."

Sakura looked back at him over her shoulder, bursting into giggles. "The way you say it makes it seem like a girlfriend is some kind of mosquito that drains all your blood."

He quirked up an eyebrow. "Isn't that how it is?"

She stopped walking, allowing him to catch up with her, just so she could pat him on the head. As expected, he quickly ducked away with a scowl, but she kept grinning. "Oh, Sasuke, one day you might change your mind." What she didn't say was, she wouldn't mind being the one to change his mind.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the locks that she had smoothed down. "No way, I'd rather date Naruto. And I'd never date Naruto."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine then, I might as well take your example." She sidled up to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

He whipped his head around to look at her with wide, scandalized eyes. "S-Sakura?!"

She pondered whether to smile or act nonchalantly. In the end her playfulness won out and she grinned from ear to ear. "Well, I just decided I don't ever want a boyfriend, either, so this means I'm no longer interested in dating you... which means it's okay if I invade your personal space," she explained.

Sasuke eyed the arm around his shoulders with a kind of reluctance he usually reserved for broccoli and carrots. "I don't know, that doesn't sound very believable."

Sakura gasped and froze in place, letting him walk out from under her arm. She blinked quickly, like she was trying to keep tears at bay. "B-but, Sasuke! You don't believe me?" She hid her face behind her hands. "Am I not your best friend anymore?" she wailed, falling down to her knees on the ground.

Her face was mostly covered, but she'd kept one tiny sliver of space through which she could peek at Sasuke's reaction. He looked utterly confused. He took small steps towards her, and knelt on the ground, putting one of his hands over hers. He cleared his throat. "Um, Sakura?"

She had been holding her breath, so she exhaled softly. "Yes?" she nearly whispered.

He placed his second hand above her other hand, accidentally covering the space she had been peeking through. She pursed her lips. At least he was kind of holding her hands, in a way. He was breathing evenly, and she wondered when he was going to speak. It was weird, not being able to see his face. Reading his expressions and decoding them, that was an ability that she prided herself on. Having that supply of expressions be suddenly cut off was starting to test her patience.

He cleared his throat again, and she focused on anticipating the sound of his voice. "I'm not sure how to put this..."

Oh no! Was he really going to tell he that she wasn't his best friend anymore? She hadn't said that seriously, she had no idea that they'd been drifting apart - it couldn't be true!

He pressed his hands onto hers, in what felt too much like an apologetic gesture. "Sakura-"

"Please don't say we're not friends anymore," she quickly cut in. "We're still friends, right?"

She heard him inhale deeply. "Sakura." There was an odd undertone in his voice, something like exasperation, maybe, but she couldn't be certain at all without seeing his face. "Sakura, you're still my best friend."

She let out a loud sigh, feeling as if the entire Hokage Mountain had been lifted from her shoulders. "Oh, Sasuke-"

"But."

She paused, blinking to herself. She was getting tired of only seeing her own palms.

He continued, "I have to be honest with you. You're a terrible actress."

He removed his hands from her face then, and she did the same, finally seeing his amused expression. Oh, so that was the undertone she had been unable to pin down. Amusement. Still, she shook her head, confused about his words. "Actress? What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "The whole 'crumbling to the ground' thing," he said, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Oh." She laughed sheepishly. "Well, uh, I wasn't giving it my best, that's all."

He stood up, glancing down the road that would lead them to the market. "Whatever you say..."

Sakura just stared at his thoughtful expression. He was actually turning around to start walking, as if he'd forgotten about her. She waved her arms to catch his attention. "Hey, are you going to leave me here?"

He looked back at her and she could tell that he was slightly wary. He was trying to read her, too. "Let's go, then," he offered with a shrug.

She pouted. "You're not going to help me up?"

He took a tentative step towards her. "Were you honest about not wanting a boyfriend?"

Ah, so this was supposed to be a moment of sincerity. She couldn't honestly say she'd been joking, though... She willed herself to not look away from his eyes. "I don't want a boyfriend." His eyebrows went up. "But I wouldn't mind having a Sasuke-friend."

His eyes widened slightly. "That's not like a boyfriend, right?"

She smiled sweetly to keep him from panicking. "No, no - not at all." She extended her hand towards him. "Okay?"

His shoulders relaxed, and he held out his hand, helping her stand up. "If you say so..." He was following her with his eyes, still cautious.

She simply grinned, putting her arm back around his shoulders. "Right! So, let's go buy some tomatoes."

His left eyebrow twitched a few times, but he started walking with her. "I don't mind being your Sasuke-friend, but that's all. Don't forget that."

She nodded seriously. "Sure, no problem," she said, giggling in her mind.

As they walked towards the marketplace, she felt him place his arm around her shoulders, too - grudgingly and hesitantly, but it was still something.

She pursed her lips to suppress a delighted grin.

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**So... Hi, I'm marzipan fox, I've been lurking on this site for a lot of years, and I've been writing for a while, too, but it's only now that I've gathered the courage to post something. I hope you found my first post at least slightly entertaining ^^'**

**About this drabble collection, I was thinking it'd be awesome if it could work like this: reviewers request a particular something, and I write it. You can request any pairing or no pairing, any genre, it can be AU if you want, too. I'd prefer to keep the drabbles T-rated at most, but this might change later on.**

**Please make your request as detailed as possible; you can suggest characters, a plot/a prompt, a general mood (fluffy, angsty etc), whether it's a relationship or just friendship fic, and anything you can think of ^^ Vague requests are okay, too, I guess. I promise I'll do my best to accept and fulfill all requests.**

**Aside from that, any comments/constructive criticism about my writing is highly appreciated and rewarded with imaginary cookies ~~~**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll be waiting for your requests ^^**


	2. Thunderstorm

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series. The characters, their backgrounds, the setting and everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Please enjoy ~**

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**Thunderstorm**

Itachi and Sasuke

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_Have you ever wondered if it's truly thunderstorms we're afraid of? Couldn't it be that thunderstorms simply bring out the hidden loneliness in our hearts?_

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Sasuke bit his lip nervously, twisting together his hands as he stood in front of Itachi's room. The sliding door was closed, and he was very reluctant to knock on it. However... His eyes squeezed shut as the sound of yet another thunder met his ears, making the hairs on his arms stand on end. He wondered what was worse, the terrifying thunderstorm or the prospect of an exasperated Itachi telling him to go back to his room because he was _six_, which meant he wasn't a baby anymore.

Sasuke didn't really think six was too old to be afraid of something as naturally scary as thunderstorms, but either way, he'd rather be a baby than have to stay alone in his room. Standing in front of his aniki's room, even this small fact was soothing his stress. Going back to his room, however... It would just end up with him curled up under the blankets, whimpering helplessly with every boom of a thunder. There was no way he'd manage to fall asleep - and if tiredness did overtake him at some point, only nightmares would await.

He stared hard at the floor, finally gathering enough willpower to raise a shaky hand in the air. He was going to knock... After all, maybe Itachi wouldn't be annoyed with him... Maybe. He shook his head, hoping to shake away the stressful thoughts.

A startled squeal made its way out of his mouth when the door suddenly swished open. His head snapped up, wide eyes meeting his brother's. As usual, Itachi's face was impassive, almost impossible to read. But Sasuke was quite sure that his brother wasn't overly annoyed.

The elder sighed. "Sasuke," he said, almost as a greeting, before stepping aside. Sasuke scampered in immediately, a tentative smile tugging at his lips. He watched Itachi close the door and walk back to his bed. The younger boy followed him, crawling underneath the thick, black duvet that held his brother's comforting smell.

He wasted no time in sliding closer to his aniki, absently marveling at the fact that Itachi's blankets always seemed to somehow be warmer than his own.

A heavy sigh came from Itachi. "Sasuke, when are you going to stop being afraid of thunderstorms?" he murmured.

Just then, thunder cracked. Sasuke shook his head vehemently. "Never," he said, the word slightly muffled as his face was buried underneath the duvet. "A-aniki?" he sttutered, feeling slightly uneasy when yet another crash of thunder rang out. He felt Itachi's arm settling over his shoulders, drawing him closer. He made a small, contented sound, looking up at his brother's face.

Itachi seemed to be staring at the window, while he rubbed soothing circles over his younger brother's shoulders. "It's not as scary as you think, you know..." His voice was thoughtful, like... like he was trying to convince Sasuke that he should have grown out of this phase already.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He didn't want to hear that speech yet again. He reached over and grabbed the sleeve of Itachi's pyjama shirt, shaking his head once more. "But what if it'll kill me?" he whispered, hoping he sounded scared enough for Itachi to take him seriously. He pressed himself closer to his brother. He felt Itachi's other hand stroking through his hair, the motion relaxing him.

Itachi breathed out evenly. "Let's sit up."

Sasuke yelped in protest, but Itachi used his superior strength to make him sit up from his lying position. His hands flew up over his face, covering his eyes to shield himself from the occasional flashes that lit up the room. The corners of his lips turned downwards in a frown. At the very least, one of Itachi's arms was still around his shoulders, serving to keep his body warm. Although it was a summer night, the way the Uchiha estate was built ensured that the heat stayed outside. While refreshening during the day, at night it called for thick blankets. Or another warm body next to yours, which Sasuke experienced much too rarely for his liking.

Itachi sighed in disapproval. "Sasuke. Please take your hands off your face."

After a few moments of thought, Sasuke grudgingly went along with the request and let his hands fall into his lap. He kept his eyes firmly closed, though. He was pretty sure Itachi was rolling his eyes at him right now.

Still, the elder brother went on, "Good. Now, otouto, please look around the room." At first there was no reaction, but once Itachi started petting his brother's wild hair, Sasuke was persuaded to comply. His eyelids fluttered open and he took in the relative darkness in the room. His eyes scanned over the murky shapes he could see, identifying from memory a desk, a bookshelf, a wardro-

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the room. Sasuke was taken by surprise, suddenly able to see what he had just guessed at before, though just for a split second. He waited patiently until lightning struck again, trying to take in its effects fully. The flashing light had a bluish hue to it, and it seemed to breathe life into the otherwise shadowed room. His eyes remained glued to the window, widening in wonder when another jagged line of blue electricity shot across the black sky. He turned his head to look at Itachi. Even the contours of his brother's face shone a light blue when lightning flashed.

Itachi had been watching his reaction. "It's not that bad, right?" he asked softly.

Sasuke was about to nod, but then he flinched when thunder seemingly crashed through the wall. He hid his face in his brother's shoulder, grasping the edge of his sleeve with his fingers. Well, the blue lightning wasn't quite as bad as he'd thought, but... "The thunder is horrible," he mumbled, trying to concentrate on hearing his brother's heartbeat.

Itachi's unwrapped his arm from around Sasuke's shoulders for a few brief seconds, placed a blanket over Sasuke's back, and returned to their original half-embrace. Sasuke sighed at the pleasant warmth the blanket had brought. He looked up at Itachi's face and noticed a small, encouraging smile on his lips. Sasuke's eyes widened and his breath froze in his throat. He wrapped both of his hands tightly around his brother's arm. "Are you trying to make me stop being afraid of storms so..." his voice died down to a shaky whisper, "so I won't bother you anymore?" Was it so bad that he didn't want to give up yet another excuse to spend time with his aniki? Was is really so childish that he was afraid his aniki might abandon him one day?

Much to his horror, Itachi adopted an inscrutable expression, like he did every time he was about to tell Sasuke something about him needing to grow up and be independent.

He held on with all of his might to Itachi's arm. "A-ani-"

"Sasuke," Itachi cut in, voice stern enough to silence the younger boy. "There is no reason for you to be afraid of thunderstorms, and I do think that you should learn to calm down on your own."

Every word was like an ice-cold arrow, piercing Sasuke's heart without any consideration for his feelings. His whole being was hurting. "A-aniki!" he whimpered, tears slipping out from his eyes. His small arms flew around his brother's neck, holding on tightly and wishing he could stay like that forever, make sure his aniki couldn't abandon him.

Itachi wrapped his hands around his little brother's arms, intending to tug them away, but in the end, he couldn't do it. He could feel Sasuke's form wracked by sobs, along with the telltale wetness on his neck. He sighed in defeat, letting his arms fall back to his sides. Letting Sasuke remain like this wasn't a good choice. It was no bother to himself - missing some sleep was the least of his concerns - but it wasn't healthy for Sasuke to be so dependent on his older brother. One day... he might not be here for Sasuke anymore.

"I-I love you!" Sasuke cried out then, squeezing Itachi with all the force his small arms were capable of.

The elder's eyes went wide. Sasuke had a habit of blurting out those three words randomly all the time, yet they never failed to take him by surprise. Perhaps it was the way they were so easily spoken, or maybe it was the desperate genuineness in them. His resolve crumbled, and he found his hand instinctively running up and down Sasuke's back in a comforting manner.

Sasuke's body relaxed and he let his eyes fall closed, knowing the gentle caress was as much of a response he would be able to get from his unfortunately stoic sibling. However, the current problem was still unsolved. A particularly loud thunder cracked just then, and he hid his face completely in his brother's shirt. "Please, don't send me away."

Itachi sighed heavily. There was no way now that he could return to attempting to cure Sasuke of his irrational fear of storms, because his other - perhaps not as irrational - fear had manifested. His fear of being separated from Itachi.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, I won't send you away," he said softly, attempting to pacify his little brother. And soon enough, he could feel the younger boy's trembling subside. He failed to understand how Sasuke could be so attached to him, be so easily calmed down by his simplest gestures. His six-year-old brother was perhaps the only person who could truly read him, and so well, too. His hands gently tugged Sasuke away from him, managing after a few seconds to untagle the boy's surprisingly strong grip on him. He turned Sasuke's face so that their eyes could meet.

He stared straight into his younger brother's wide, anxious eyes. "I'll let you stay." He watched relief and happiness bubble up in them, casting a warm light over them. "This time," he added, but these latter words were completely ignored by the younger sibling.

Sasuke let a smile stretch on his lips. He completely relaxed in his brother's hold, the lightning and thunder outside no longer registering in his mind.

Itachi couldn't suppress his chuckle. Sasuke looked just so happy right then. He slowly lowered both of them back to a lying position, using his free hand to properly arrange the duvet on top of them. "Sleep now, Sasuke," he said quietly, running his hand once through his brother's unruly hair. He shifted carefully, trying to find a better position. Not that Sasuke would care, since his little brother seemed to be already asleep.

A small smile was allowed to remain on his lips. The thunderstorm was still going on, Sasuke would still be afraid of them when the next one came, yet Itachi couldn't help but feel oddly peaceful.

Sleep settled over him as well and his smile widened, the soft heartbeat of his little brother lulling him into dreamland.

He wasn't aware of it, but the peaceful and content expression on Sasuke's face was, for once, perfectly mirrored on his own.

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**I hope you enjoyed this second short story. I didn't receive any requests yet, but... My offer still stands :D I think it'd be really fun to write the stories in this collection based on the requests of readers.**

**Also, I said this last chapter, too, but reviews are very very very welcome, and they make me (like all other authors) extremely happy ~**


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